Stonegate parking lot could soon become full road

Published 1:40 pm, Thursday, January 9, 2014

An aerial view of the area west of Interstate 27 that could soon become an extension of Kermit Street.

An aerial view of the area west of Interstate 27 that could soon become an extension of Kermit Street.

Photo: Courtesy: Google Maps

Stonegate parking lot could soon become full road

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If you have lived in Plainview very long, you’ve likely driven on it a number of times.

You pull through a white gate with a “no trucks” sign, take a quick dogleg right and speed on down to either the movie theater or Walmart Supercenter.

You probably didn’t realize that what you are driving on wasn’t technically a street, but if all goes according to plan, it will become part of Kermit Street between 13th Street and Olton Road in the coming months.

The Plainview City Council took the first steps in getting the necessary approvals to have the Texas Department of Transportation turn the easternmost parking lot ribbon of the Stonegate Shopping Center into a “backage” road for traffic along Interstate 27.

TxDOT defines a backage roads as a “local street or road that generally runs parallel to an arterial or highway, but is not adjacent to the highway right-of-way. Direct access for businesses or properties located between the highway and the backage road is provided by the backage road, rather than the highway.

The road, once created, will give a path from Olton Road to the Walmart, and will eliminate the small median that drivers currently have to swerve around just past the entrance to the Stonegate Center.

The creation of a TxDOT built/city maintained road came as TxDOT prepares for the I-27 frontage road to be converted into a one-way southbound road as Plainview’s exits change from a rural two-way frontage road setting to an urban one with single direction lanes.

The council held its first reading of the proposal Thursday during a Thursday lunch work session, members’ first meeting of 2014. The plan calls for a right-of-way deed to be granted from land owners along the proposed street. The two property owners have agreed, and one has already signed off on the deal.

Councilman Charles Starnes pointed to TxDOT information that says research indicates backage roads provide more access to a greater number of businesses and can increase the value of adjacent land while reducing road construction costs for individual properties.

Once the council holds a second reading of the proposal Tuesday night, members will then vote to enter into a funding agreement with TxDOT, which will construct the road as part of its ongoing remodeling of the interstate.

The proposal, approved by Councilman V.O. Ortega and seconded by Mayor Pro-Tem Cathy Waggoner, specifically addresses the needs of the owners of the frontage road restaurants as well as the businesses which occupy the Stonegate Center. “We’re not going to impact those business owners,” City Manager Greg Ingham told the council. “We are going to tie the road into their access lanes.”

Ingham and Mayor Wendell Dunlap said the theory behind the creation of a specific road would be to keep the traveling public off a parking lot and back on a city street.

Dunlap said the city was very lucky for TxDOT to be creating the road for Plainview.

The second reading of the road creation is just one part of the agenda for Tuesday night’s meeting. The newest council member, District 5’s Susan Blackerby, will be sworn in Tuesday night as the first order of business. Last month Blackerby won a runoff election to replace Shane Martinez, who departed the council in August.

The city will also receive a report from the Plainview Housing Authority, hear a zone case for a proposed new building for Hometown Pharmacy to be located at Seventh and Ennis, hear another zone case to allow a beauty salon to move into the former office building at Seventh and Houston and to discuss an economic development agreement with Hale County on a proposed industrial park.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall. A pre-council session will begin at 6:30